


At least we'll both be numb

by AbbySomething



Series: Maybe This Will Be My Year [7]
Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Creepy flirting, Dubious/Non-consensual holding/hugging, Dubiuos Consensual Flirting, Gen, Mild sadism, Minor Assault, Minor Violence, Racism, Racist remarks, Strong Language, alcohol use, enjoy your stay while it lasts, nonconsensual drug use, oh look Jack's emotions are finally showing up nice to see you all, welcome to the beginning of the fluff and fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 17:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8761726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbySomething/pseuds/AbbySomething
Summary: In vino veritas





	

**Author's Note:**

> Everything I write is a work of fiction.

In spite of his quest for it, Jack still found the past was always catching up to him in other ways.

He first noticed a brightly-colored flyer deep within the woods on the outskirts of town, but it had been written in a strange, blocky language he could not decipher. As they came within the town’s limits, more flyers popped up, all in that same odd language and decorated in truly obnoxious colors. Jack’s best guess was that they were advertisements for some kind of costume party, or perhaps a movie.

More things he understood existed in this future, but had yet to experience firsthand.

They checked in to one of the only motels in the town, showing its years through the peeling paint and cracked windows, all of which Aku still had the audacity to wrinkle his nose at. Jack didn’t pry, this time, already knowing it was likely a combination of the ex-demon’s ego and his lingering fear of germs.

(Jack had only discovered that one when Aku had explained, in excruciating detail, why he refused to help Jack skin their caught meals even if Jack was just as adamant he pull his weight regardless. A compromise had eventually been reached when Jack bought him a small pack of “antibacterial” gel, of which he did doubt the validity of the claim but did not make his opinion known, and Aku had been silent on the matter since.)

It was only when they made it to the hallway outside their room when they spotted a man with a short ponytail and gold sunglasses, attempting to tape a flyer to their door, that the probable source of the papers was made known.

Jack and Aku walked up to him, faces stern, and it took a second for the man to notice them, likely thanks to the sunglasses.

“Whoaaa, hey,” he drawled out, smiling lazily, “You two got some mad ninja skills to sneak up on me like that.”

Aku snorted.

The man glanced at the door, then at them, slowly putting the pieces together. After a short silence, he cocked his head at them.

“Oh, is this your room? My bad!” He made a wide step back, but left his other foot in front of the door. It took another few seconds of staring before he looked down and realized the problem, then apologized again and slid his other foot back.

Jack chose to not say anything, stepping up to the door and looking closer at the flyer, which he still realized he could not read.

“There’s gunna be a sick rave tonight, dudes!” The man explained, waving his arms and causing a few papers from the pile he held in one hand to fly out, “Like, absolutely must-go. Mad rave, yeah.”

That froze Jack in his tracks. He rotated his head to stare hard at the man, then turned around to face Aku.

“Rave?” He questioned, folding his arms.

Aku gave him a peculiar look, curling one side of his lips and quirking an eyebrow.

“What do you think I had to do with this? Raves were not my idea in the first place, and the idea of the hypnotism was proven useless for several reasons, not the least of which was you beat the only good DJ I had. In addition, the records would not work unless they were played correctly on the right equipment. It was the only way the hypnotic undertones could be picked up.”

“And what became of the records?” Jack probed further, “I destroyed only one set of copies, but I know you would have had more.”

Aku pursed his lips distastefully.

“For once, you are in the wrong. Both of our lucks being what they were, you happened to stop my test group, and I chose not to capitalize on the idea further. The likelihood of anyone having copies _and_ the equipment and skills to play them at this point are astronomically small.”

“We will not take that chance.” Jack tried to turn around to question the other man, but found he was gone.

“He wandered away while we were talking,” Aku explained, “And if you think I will go into one of those filthy, drunken, drug-addled raves just on the tiniest chance that it is a bunch of teenagers dancing against their will, you are wrong. Raves are a normal thing, fool, and you should not be so paranoid about them.”

Jack’s frown deepened, and he stood his ground in front of Aku. Unfortunately, Aku refused to budge. Jack resorted to trying to give Aku his most stern stare, but Aku crinkled his nose. This went on for nearly two minutes, before Jack finally realized that Aku really was not going to be moved.

Jack was almost tempted to believe Aku’s word, but deep down he wanted to at least be _absolutely_ sure those people were safe before he retired for the night. So, instead, irritated now at being so torn and forced on his own again, he huffed and stepped back from the door.

He held up the key, out of Aku’s reach.

“If I am not back in an hour, assume I have been compromised. If I do knock, please open the door.”

He did not tell Aku what to do if he had been compromised; ordering Aku to come after him would be pointless and make him sound weak; saying Aku should continue on his journey without Jack was the obvious choice and likely what Aku would do regardless. Jack accepted all of those, even if the idea displeased him because he still felt Aku owed him for teaching so much.

But this was _Aku_.

Jack handed the key over to Aku, who gave him an unreadable expression before heading into the room and shutting the door closed behind him.

Jack took a deep breath, and set out in pursuit of the man they had spoken to. He was able to track the other man quickly enough, as he happened to move rather slow and had trouble discerning where he might want to go. However, after about fifteen minutes, just as the sun was starting to set, the man meandered over to a large, stone-grey building surrounded by humans and aliens of all kinds and ages, waiting in a line that led to a single door guarded by a burly bouncer.

The last time Jack had been in a situation like this, there had been far too many teenagers to tackle all at once. Instead, he’d been forced to go for the source of the mind-controlling music to eliminate the problem; it appeared this situation was going to be similar. The first problem was the door: Jack wandered around the building at a distance, and there was another door, but it was presumably locked or else those in the line would have probably already been using it to get in. All the windows were boarded up from the inside as well, and without an unmonitored location from the crowd, Jack doubted his ability to break the boards from the outside without alerting too many to handle.

That left the front entrance.

He could not wait outside all night, like the unsuspecting victims outside, so he went back towards the front to speak to the teenager guarding the door. As he walked up, he tore off small pieces of his gi to block his ears with, recalling that last time they had successfully stopped the mind-controlling aspect of the music.

The man at the front eyed him as Jack walked up, and rolled his eyes when Jack came close enough to be heard. Jack immediately disliked this man’s attitude; but he needed to get in, one way or another.

“I require entrance to this—”

“No way, jackass. Get the fuck back in line.” The man jerked towards the opposite side of the building with a meaty finger.

Jack’s mouth twitched into a small frown, his dislike growing at being interrupted and the man’s course language and attitude. Aku had certainly allowed rudeness to spread far and deep into the residents of this planet.

“I assure you,” Jack said, a bit more cooly, “I will only be in there a few minutes. If you would simply let me—”

“Alright, you leave or I—”

“Holy shit,” a voice said from within the doorway, and it was revealed to be a teenager with a sideways hat and multiple glowing necklaces, “Holy _shit_ you guys, it’s samurai Jack!”

Jack blinked a bit owlishly, emotions now mixed from the anger still there as well as the bewilderment of being recognized, then leaned back as the teenager came close, beaming at him.

“Well, or you’re a really fucking good cosplayer,” he added with a smirk, then, “Either way, you get a free pass bud! Come right in!”

A few people in the line protested, but the teen grabbed Jack’s sleeve and all but dragged him in. Jack’s eyes needed only seconds to adjust, but the music was immediately pounding in his ears. He shook off the shock of the change, stuffing the strips of his gi into his ears, and tried to peer around for where the main DJ might be.

The teen didn’t stop pulling, though, and Jack followed him to a small table just to the right of the door, covered in red plastic cups. One was immediately picked up and held up to Jack’s face.

“Sorry, but everyone’s gotta drink the entrance test, Chinaman or not.” the teen shouted, shrugging. Unfortunately, Jack could still hear him over the mufflers in his ears, even if the music around him was tuned down a bit. Jack’s shoulders tensed at the term the teen had used on him, and cold anger swept over him a wave.

“I am Japanese,” Jack tried to say in a calm but stern voice, staring straight-on into the teen’s bewildered face, “You should not use such presumptuous and…incorrect language such as that.”

He wanted to give this child the benefit of the doubt— that perhaps he had been raised with that kind of ignorance (it would certainly not have been his first encounter with this subject)— and upon being corrected the shame or empathy would cause him to change his ways. Jack might have let it go if an insult had been specific to him, but he could tell this was more of an “attitude and lack of understanding problem.”

The teen scrunched his face to reflect doubt, but then shook his head and said “Alright, sure. I getcha.”

He pushed the red plastic cup towards Jack again, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

Jack furrowed his brow, and was about ready to put this _child_ in his place before he had to rationalize that it would not be worth the effort. He still had to accomplish his mission, and if this place was another mind-control hub then that would still draw the wrong kind of attention. He then considered his options: if he accepted the drink, he would risk whatever they had put in it, possibly outside of alcohol. On the other hand, if he forced his way through them, if they _were_ being controlled, the DJ would turn the children on him just as had happened last time.

Of course, it wasn’t like he _couldn’t_ handle his alcohol, if that’s all it was. And if it was not…

He would have to deal with that when it happened.

He took the cup, and drank a small sip, which appeared to satisfy the teens, who cheered and parted to let him in. He still felt disgusted at having accommodated for the disrespectful one, but he knew the child would get better or suffer the consequences one day.

“Don’t have too much fun in there!” A gold necklace-wearing one yelled after him.

Jack did not see a place to put the drink down, so he carried it with him awkwardly as he tried to weave his way through the grinding, dancing, and standing around. Unlike last time, he could not spot a stage or singular source of lights in the area, and he could see large speakers hanging from the ceiling everywhere that blasted the music all over. There were too many heads that were still taller than him, so he was forced to continue maneuvering his way all over the area.

He tapped on the shoulder of someone with long blonde hair, and the whole body turned, revealing an angry expression.

“Oh my god Joel, how many— Oh!” She did a double-take, and sized Jack up with her eyes before she broke out into a joyous grin, “Like, you’re the, the ninja man! Kathy, it’s the ninja guy we heard about on TV!”

She gestured to another, brunette and shorter-haired woman, who stepped forth and they both peered at Jack eagerly. Jack shook off the awkwardness and tried to get what he needed.

“Do your parents not worry for you?” he began, raising his voice to a level they could hear, “Have you come here of your own free will?”

The two of them blinked at him, furrowing their brows in confusion.

“What?” Kathy asked.

Jack tried again, using words he hoped they might understand better.

“Have you done anything you did not wish to?”

“Ohhh,” they both said, and then the blonde one continued: “Well, uh, besides making out with a pretzel earlier, no. We’re all just having a good time!”

She reached out, but he backed away before she made contact with his arm.

“Like, you should have a good time too,” she said, batting her eyes at him, “I’m sure you, uh, never get days off and stuff.”

“Betsy!” Kathy chided, “That is, like, the worst pickup line _ever_. You should be so ashamed.”

Kathy turned to Jack, smiling coyly, “Why don’t you at least dance with us? We’re so much fun!”

Jack felt a familiar sense of embarrassment at the hint of flirtation, even if he wanted to believe they were only being friendly. He shook his head regardless. He had the information he needed, gathered from the various elements he’d taken in all along until this point. It was clear…Aku had been right. This was simply some regular dance party, and he had used all that effort for naught but his own reassurance. It was time to leave.

“I apologize, but I must be going. I am not here to socialize.”

He started to turn back, but Kathy stepped far too close for comfort, and Jack had no more room to move without compromising another person’s space. She looked up at him with pathetic eyes.

“Please? You’re like, the hottest guy in this whole place. Just one dance?” She swayed a bit too far forward, and Jack caught her by the arm, gently pushing her back. She didn’t seem to notice, and blinked a bit wearily before taking another sip of the drink she had in her hand.

Wait…

Was this a normal drunken action, or the work of something else in her system?

Jack stiffened, and then held up the drink he still had and took a deep sniff. Nothing _smelled_ suspicious, but he did not know how advanced the medicinal ways were in this future.

This also meant he might be compromised.

“I must go.” Jack said, and without a second glance he breezed past the two women and tried doubly hard to weave his way back to the door, or any conceivable way out for that matter.

The problem was, with all the flashing lights, pounding sounds, and the way he had gotten shoved around and distracted by all the unwanted contact, Jack could not make heads or tails of where he was supposed to go.

Not only that, but was he being pushed back two steps for every step he took forward? He couldn’t quite tell.

Jack suddenly realized he too must have been drugged, judging by the way his mind was starting to buzz and his limbs felt out of tune with what he wanted them to do; he had to get out as fast as possible or he would be in a very, very bad situation. And yet he couldn’t; everywhere he turned or stepped seemed to be in the wrong direction. At some point he got so dizzy he had to lean against a wall…which turned out to be another person when they yelped and jumped, startling Jack to the floor. He hit the ground in a slight roll, finally getting the chance to steady himself when his body was against something that was not moving.

He had to get back…Aku would…

The man he had bumped into leaned over, looking concerned.

“Dude,” the man said, “You don’t look too good! Want a drink?”

* * *

 

For the first hour, Aku paced, rummaged through all the drawers, and read through all the pamphlets he had stolen from the lobby. The next hour, as the sun began to set, he laid down and pushed all thoughts of the samurai angrily from his mind, trying instead to calm himself down to go to sleep.

He woke up an indeterminate amount of time later, but it must have been another hour or two because the only light in the room was the pale moonbeams from the tiny crescent in the sky. He could still hear the pounding of the music from several blocks away, and he frowned before turning his face back into his pillow.

A kind of curiosity forced his eyes to glance at the still-vacant area of the bed next to him. Some new emotion nagged at him, and he swatted it away with the firm resolution that whatever trouble the samurai had gotten himself into, he could surely get out of it on his own.

He laid back down and closed his eyes.

Then again, although this realization hurt his ego, Jack really did provide his best chance at surviving and finding a way out of this curse. He opened his eyes again and stared out the small window to the starry sky, listening to the pounding of the music.

“You owe me for this, samurai!” he grunted to the empty room, and threw the sheet back to roll out and put his shoes back on.

It was luckily quiet down in the rest of the hotel, although Aku knew most visitors were probably still kept awake by the noise. He made his way out onto the streets, holding himself as the mildly cold temperature began to creep in.

Within a few minutes, he found himself at the entrance to the club, and saw that there was a line out the door, crowded by eager idiots in bright garb.

Bypassing them, he went straight to the door and confronted the tall youth checking everyone’s identities.

“Yes, hello, the fool— I mean, the samurai in the dress robe came in earlier and I would like to retrieve him now.”

“Back of the line, hedgehog!”

“What?” Aku looked over his shoulder at the line weaving parallel to the building and around the corner. “I did not see him in line, I know he came in earlier in the day—“

“No I meant you,” the imbecile narrowed his eyes and glowered at Aku, who stared back passively.

“You get to the back of the line, and when you come up on your turn I’ll see if I can get you in.”

Aku considered his options. He could give in and wait for however much longer it would take, in the cold night air to rescue someone he barely tolerated and wanted to kill even on a good day. On the other hand, he might be able to punch this bastard in the throat and crawl over him into the rave, but he was…rather well built. Not as good as Jack of course, but—

(Where did _that_ thought come from?)

His thoughts were interrupted when a teenager wearing several glowing necklaces stepped out, grinning wide at him.

“Oi, you’re a friend of samurai Jack in there?” The teen pointed inside, and Aku nodded quickly.

“Step on up, mi amigo!” he motioned inside, and the guard huffed and shuffled to the side to allow Aku entrance. Aku held his head high, giving the boy a smirk as he strode past.

The music was deafening, and his eyes took a minute to adjust to the alternating darkness and flashing lights. Before he walked in any further, however, he was grasped firmly by the arm and jerked a few steps to his right.

“Hey hey hey, you may be a friend of Jack’s, but you still gotta pass the entrance test!” Another teen, wearing a similar crooked hat and a lot of shiny jewelry, held a red plastic cup to Aku’s face.

“I am not drinking tonight. I am here to—“

“Ha!” both of the teenagers laughed, but the first teen spoke again, “That’s exactly what the Jap said, but he still took it! We convinced him, didn’t we guys?”

He turned to the crowd around him, who all cheered and screeched over the music. Aku flinched and clenched his fists. He was _not_ in the mood for this stupidity, or the word they had used for the samurai. Aku admitted to having a significant lack of understanding of human customs or ideologies that persisted to this day, but even as a demon he’d understood _hatred._

Aku didn’t care for Jack in the slightest, but he had standards.

“I do not have time or care for this, I am merely here to—“

“C’mon, you yellow people love alcohol right?” The teen with the glowing necklaces smirked. If it were possible, Aku clenched his fists further, and he felt his nails dig rivets into his palms.

Aku snatched the cup from the one that had insulted him and Jack, and then threw it back in his face. While he was still stunned, Aku reared his right fist back and punched the idiot right between the eyes, knocking him on his rear.

His knuckles stung, and he grimaced, but he retreated into the crowd for his actual mission. Once he felt mixed in, he grasped the closest teen by the shoulder and pulled them around to face him.

“Yes hello where is the fool wearing the white dress robe?” he shouted.

“What?” The blonde girl kept dancing, much to Aku’s annoyance.

“The samurai! He must have tried to stop this nonsense with his speeches about raves are bad and children should be at home with their parents silliness!”

“Like, i have no idea what you’re even talking abou— aaahhh!” Aku shoved her hard back into another teen once it obvious she was no use.

He continued to wander, his anger growing steadily at this whole ridiculous situation. If the samurai fool had just listened and not been the fool he often was, neither of them would be in this situation.

He caught a flash of white, and almost didn’t recognize his target because it took a second to realize that the strange actions of this person were matched to the physical qualities he was looking for.

The first thing that caught his eye as he focused in was that Jack’s hair was down, tumbling wildly to below his shoulders, and his face was quite red, like he’d been under the sun for too long without his ridiculous hat. The strange thing however— the one that threw him off-guard— was the fact the samurai was laughing. Not a simple chuckle, but a full-blown peal that was causing him to shake hard from the effort.

It was surreal.

Aku shook off the sense of weirdness and marched towards Jack, livid in his understanding that he had done all these for _nothing_ , the samurai was simply partying and enjoying _himself_ while Aku suffered…Well, he’d see about that.

“Wow, like, your sword is soooo…big,” One of the women surrounding Jack observed, and her face became redder after the remark.

“Hm?” he replied, the hand not occupied with a red plastic cup groping around the weapon.

“Oh please,” A man to Jack’s right rolled his eyes, “As if he hasn’t heard that one before. Try more like,” he had to pause, his brow furrowing as he concentrated, “You wanna sheathe your sword in something else?”

The women all began to laugh hard, and Jack, who had initially appeared confused at these remarks, began to laugh hard again too.

It confused Aku, for a split second, as to why Jack would be acting like this in a crowd of strangers, until the memory of what the entry-test child had said hit him again and the pieces clicked into place.

Jack was _drunk_.

Oh, this was too good to pass up. Irritation temporarily shoved aside, Aku took a moment to watch, crossing his arms.

“You are all hilarious!” Jack said a little louder than necessary, still chuckling, “I do, I do not understand the jokes, but I am still laughing!”

“Aw, he’s so cute!” the first woman remarked, giggling into her hand.

“I know! And check out that hair!” the first man replied, “I’ve always had a weakness for long hair on a guy.”

“Oh, you’re all pussies,” another woman, her hair done up in short, pink spikes, shouted over the noise before sweeping in and placing one arm around Jack’s waist, the other firmly on the belt holding his gi together.

“Um,” Jack murmured, his face falling at their proximity.

“Ohh, baby, you look like a screamer.” She grinned, almost lecherous, “It’s always the pretty ones.”

Aku’s stomach formed a hard knot, and he felt a wave of revulsion run through him.

It was…amusing to watch Jack be a complete imbecile to their obvious flirting, but this little joke had gone on far too long. Plus they probably needed to get out of there before the teenagers at the door found them. Plus those people clearly had no idea who they were flirting with, or else they would have left Jack alone because he was such an imbecile. Plus…plus…

These people were probably unaware of what Jack acted like when he _was_ attracted to someone, like his lack of eye contact, or how weightless his shoulders were when he was around that person, or how closely he would stand or be near them. Aku only knew that information because it was how the samurai had acted around him when Aku had been in appealing disguises years ago, and while Aku still did not understand human attraction to this day he knew the samurai had been acting in a specific, particularly out-of-character-way during those times, so he logically equated it to attraction. _These people_ must have misread his actions and clearly didn’t know that Jack was just drunk and acting more foolishly than usual. That was it.

Aku grabbed the nearest one and shoved them out of the way, ignoring their cries of indignation. His feet froze before he could reach out to Jack, though, legs and arms locking as ice filled his veins.

The woman had leaned forward, and placed her mouth upon the prone expanse of Jack’s neck. Even through the darkness and noise, Aku saw Jack’s eyes widen, and heard the little, barely-there gasp that escaped him.

Fire melted the ice in him, boiling under his skin, but just as he reached forward Jack delivered a palm strike into her ribcage with his drink-free hand, and then spun to his side and delivered an expert kick to her face as she stumbled away. It sent her flying back, and the crowd gasped as the whole area went quiet.

“ _Dude_ ,” a teenager said to Aku’s left, “Bitchin’ moves!”

Jack fumbled his recovery, spilling some of the drink in his cup, but then he took another long swig, releasing it with a “hah” of breath.

Aku had had enough, and he took a hold of Jack’s arm, gripping it tightly in his fury before yanking him to the side. Jack dropped the drink, stumbled, straightened, then looked up at him, shock overtaking his features.

“Aku!” he shouted, and he reached up with the gripped hand to cup Aku’s face and pinch his cheek to just this side of uncomfortable.

“I was,” he started again, and he swayed a little, like a leaf in a breeze, “I was telling these unruly teenagers about you! I am glad you are here now; they want to know about my weapon and I was thinking—”

“Well, that is nice of you but we are leaving now.” Aku swatted his hand away.

The crowd around Jack let out a collection of boo’s and groans, and Jack’s expression turned serious.

“No, we will demonstrate some of what I have been teaching you. I demand it!”

Jack tried to grab his sword, but only managed to keep clenching at thin air, before he fell forward a little too far, and Aku caught him against his chest. Jack squirmed, and then let out a small laugh, the hot puffs of which Aku could feel through his shirt.

“Aku?” The man to Aku’s right asked, “As in, _the_ Aku?”

“No,” Aku spat, glaring right at him, “Because I would not be able to do _this!_ ”

Aku drew the sword from the samurai’s belt, holding it out in a promise of pain to any who drew close. As much as he despised the weapon, it did have a certain useful effect. They all withdrew as if they’d been hit, and the crowd’s eyes grew wide.

He glanced around at each of them, his eyes daring them to come closer. Finally, after a tense few moments, he let go of Jack’s arm to put it around his waist and drag him away.

“Where are you taking me?” Jack’s voice slurred, and he lifted his head slightly as they shuffled away.

“Out of this pitiful establishment!” Aku still held the sword out, and people were getting the message and moving out of his way as he traced a path back to the door.

“But I was having fun!” Jack protested, then, pouting, “You never let me have fun.”

“Hey!” someone shouted over their shoulder, and both Jack and Aku turned their heads to see the teenager that had given them the drinks at the entrance shove people out of the way, his nose dribbling blood and turning a dark purplish-red.

“Jack! Enjoy running instead now!” Aku let go of his waist and started to sprint forward, his hand wrapping around Jack’s wrist to drag him along.

Jack’s face lit up, “I _do_ enjoy running!”

Thankfully he was still able to run, even in this state, and they burst through the door, startling the guard off his feet to the ground. Jack quickly took the lead, being much faster than Aku, but he was still not on top of his game by the way he began to stumble over his own feet within a minute. It grew worse the closer they got to the hotel, and Aku finally stopped both of them, breathing hard, as they rounded a corner with a streetlamp and were well out of sight and hopefully out of range of those angry children.

Jack breathed heavily as he leaned up against a nearby wall, and then burst out with a loud, single laugh. Aku glowered at him and bared his teeth, and Jack rolled his eyes.

Anger finally boiling over, Aku put his hand over Jack’s mouth to silence him. Jack began to quiet down, although he didn’t appear to be close to actually _stopping_.

“Do not,” Aku warned, his voice low, “Make me kill you tonight, fool.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed, and suddenly Aku’s world went spinning, during which he dropped the sword before he was brutally slammed against the wall, the samurai having reversed their positions. His back screamed in pain, and he clawed at Jack’s iron-tight grip on his coat, not that it did a lot of good.

“Try it,” Jack hissed, his breath foul with alcohol, although his eyes were sharp, “I would take pleasure in putting you in your place, _demon_.”

Jack pressed his entire body up against Aku, and Aku was more than aware of all the places they were slotted together. His body burned from the excessive contact. He grimaced, but kept the feral glare upon Jack.

For a long series of uncomfortable minutes, Jack seemed only to focus on studying Aku’s face intently, his eyes scanning every aspect. Aku’s rising level of discomfort made him start to sweat in his clothes, and no matter how he squirmed he could not escape.

Finally, Jack’s brows came together to form a confused look, and one hand reached up to tap against Aku’s lips. Aku froze.

“It does not make sense,” Jack murmured, “Your lips are green, so why…?”

He leaned his head in closer, and Aku could feel Jack’s breath on his chin. Jack cocked his head just a tiny bit to the side.

“What magic made this?” Jack asked aloud, although Aku wasn’t sure he was addressing anyone in particular.

Jack smirked, and a cold shudder ran down Aku’s spine. This close, now, and Aku could see that Jack’s irises were not black as he had always presumed; even with his pupils as blown as they were in his intoxication, Aku could see just a rim of a slightly lighter shade thanks to the streetlamp.

“I think you were meant to. To be a distraction, to me,” he hummed, “At least you kept your beard in shape before.”

Jack moved his hand down to stroke two fingers, deftly, over Aku’s wiry facial hair. Granted, it did need a trim, but _dammit_ he had just gotten it to an acceptable length and—

“Are you _done_ yet fool?” Aku demanded, finding his voice again. Jack looked up at him, appearing confused, but then he reeled backwards like a shot.

“My apologies, you did not ask…” His feet tripped over each other, and he fell to the ground. Jack’s head swiveled around, as if searching for the unknown enemy that had tripped him.

He suddenly switched to another language, German by Aku’s estimates, and then struggled to get up. All he managed to do was to roll to one side and continue grumbling in yet another language.

“Ugh,” Aku curled his lip in revulsion, shook himself, and kicked the sword at Jack before turning to march off back to the hotel, finally done with all this foolishness.

“No!”

He whipped himself around, both in surprise and still-lingering rage, but everything seemed to stop as he stared down at Jack.

He had managed to sit halfway up, and one hand was reaching out towards Aku. His eyes were full of pain, but Aku had no idea where it might be originating from. Probably his stomach, from all that laughing and drinking he’d been doing.

“Don’t leave,” Jack pleaded, and oh, it looked like he might cry. That would be…

Aku’s first thought was “wonderful,” but it wasn’t how he _felt_ , not really. Of course a large part of him would still be pleased at witnessing the samurai in pain or humiliated, but now something equally powerful turned in his chest. The thought of _anything_ but disgust and hatred stirring within him for Jack was terrifying.

“Don’t leave me.” Jack’s hand fell to his side, and his eyes turned downward, turning into something more… _lost_ than sad.

Aku stiffened, unsure of what Jack meant by this, even in his inebriated state. Clearly, they didn’t truly enjoy each other’s company; it was only because of this situation that they tolerated each other. Could it be, however, that…

Aku remembered just then: Jack’s greatest battle was not with Aku or time or any other physical enemy. It was with the fool’s _loneliness_. Above all, Jack felt alone in this world, and he truly was, just as he had acknowledged after the incident in the Colosseum. Aku had made sure to drill that knowledge down every once in a while when he had been at full power through many attempts to keep the samurai’s progress dampened by his own despair. Even before this cursed incident, the few continuous connections Jack had had to his home were his beliefs, his sword, and Aku.

Did Jack feel as if…his loneliness on his pointless quest was gone now that Aku traveled with him? But surely he realized that Aku…that he was…

“Traveling companionship” Jack had called this _thing_ between them. Had he been lying? Or was he keeping something from himself as well?

Aku took another step back, skin exploding with sweat and shivers.

Jack brought his gaze back up to catch Aku’s, reflecting a dark storm of confusion, loss, and fear.

“Please,” Jack said softly, then closed his mouth and swallowed.

The heart in Aku’s chest tightened, and he gasped aloud, feeling sickened at the involuntary twitch. He shut his eyes tight, wanting to block out everything around him in hopes that it would stop the sensations within him.

Maybe it had been something in the air at the club. He reasoned his tumultuous emotions down with that thought, and he took a deep breath to cap them all back under his control.

It took another second for Aku’s wickedness to catch up, and it only dawned on him after that train of thought that perhaps he could use this incident against Jack at a later point. He scrunched his face in distaste, horrified that he’d had an inner conflict about helping Jack _before_ even considering how he could manipulate the situation in his favor.

“Very well!” Aku opened his eyes and made a show of striding back over and picking up Jack’s sword, careful to not touch the blade itself, “Since you have proven to be of some use to Aku, perhaps I will wait for the drunkeness to wear off and you shall be useful once more!”

As he reached for Jack, the samurai flung himself forward and wrapped his arms around Aku’s chest.

Aku wheezed, for Jack had little to no control over his strength right now and was holding him _very_ tightly. He did not want any further contact whatsoever, but Jack continued to hold him and even went back to chuckling.

“Hello, Aku,” he said happily, voice muffled into Aku’s chest.

Aku huffed, his voice constricted, “You can let go now, fool.”

Jack’s arms relaxed a little, but he didn’t let go completely. Able to breath normally again, Aku hooked his free arm around Jack and pulled him to his feet. Jack took a few seconds to become steady again, and then released one arm to bring it up and rub absentmindedly at his eyes, the other still grasping the back of Aku’s coat.

“Tired,” he mumbled.

Aku put the sword into the other hand, and sheathed it back in it’s container, the now-freed hand then going around Jack’s waist again to hold him up better.

He couldn’t believe the position he’d been put in. _Helping_ the drunken samurai; his sworn enemy! He probably should have left him at the party to fend for himself.

_The way those people were looking at Jack—_

He shook his head of whatever those thoughts had been, and began to guide both of them back to their room. Clearly he must have inhaled something.

Clearly.

* * *

 

Jack started to chuckle again as they had struggled up the stairs, and was back to laughing (though not so hard) by the time they entered the room. Aku, fatigue and impatience finally getting to him, put both hands on either side of Jack’s shoulders and shoved him in the direction of the bed. Jack fell flat on his face on the mattress, his arms flailing too wildly to stop himself. He continued to laugh regardless, and Aku ignored him while he threw his shoes and coat off and climbed back under the one sheet.

“Goodnight, fool,” he grumbled.

“Waaaaait, Akuuuuu,” Jack slurred, and Aku could feel him struggling to get himself situated.

Aku closed his eyes and chose to ignore whatever else the samurai might do while he was still inebriated. He was _far_ too sick of him and the world for this.

As per usual, the fool interrupted his plans. There was a still moment, where it seemed like Aku might get some peace, but then—

“I am coooold, eheh,” Jack began, and then burst into another fit of short, sharp laughter.

“That is not my problem,” Aku replied firmly.

The mattress bounced as Jack apparently scooted himself along it, hopefully settling in. That, at least, was what Aku would have liked to think before a pair of arms and legs enveloped him in a hug from behind.

“Defend yourself!” Jack shouted, and rolled both of them up.

Aku struggled to free himself, wriggling and pushing against the samurai’s strong hold. Finally, he got an elbow loose, and jabbed Jack in what he hoped was his stomach. Jack wheezed mid-laugh, and relented his hold. Aku turned back to his side, and used both hands to shove Jack away.

“ _What_ is your problem, fool?” Aku snapped, sitting up and glaring down at Jack. He understood that Jack was drunk, but for the gods’ sake, most humans at least grew sad or lazy when they were in that state. How in the world was it making the samurai this… _clingy?_ And just…weird.

“Is, is it so strange to you to desire physical comfort?” Jack asked, managing to get up onto his elbows, his hair a mess framing his face.

“Yes,” Aku replied, “Especially when you seek it from me.”

“Please, Aku,” Jack’s voice dropped low, and one hand extended to reach out towards Aku. His face became similar to the expression he had worn outside, on the ground, and Aku felt…something inside tug at him again.

The refusal was caught in Aku’s throat, where it formed into an air bubble and he coughed awkwardly.

He had better turn back into a demon soon. All these human emotions were getting to him, and he felt a twinge of fear that he might actually feel _pity_.

No, no _no no!_ He was not feeling that, he was sure. Maybe…it was just whatever he had inhaled at the rave. That explained a lot, really.

Jack’s hand finally touched Aku’s waist, and Aku flinched.

“…Very well,” he answered, and started to lie back down, avoiding further eye contact with Jack, “But you will follow several rul—oof!”

His breath escaped him as Jack plunged forward to hold him, thankfully not as tight this time. One leg wedged itself between his, and the other threw itself over all the other ones. One arm was curled in and tucked between Jack and Aku’s chests, and the free one wrapped up and around Aku’s waist to place a hand between his shoulders.

Jack pulled himself forward to lay completely up against Aku, pressing his face back into the arm closest to the bed. Aku held his chin up awkwardly to avoid resting it on any part of Jack.

“Goodnight,” Jack mumbled into the junction between Aku’s shoulder and neck, causing Aku to jerk a little at the sensation. Well, now he knew that _that_ area was sensitive as well.

“Samurai,” he hissed behind clenched teeth, “I have not established my rules to this holding, I do not wish…”

He trailed off when Jack didn’t stir, and his breathing was getting slower and more even against Aku’s skin.

“Jack?” he asked, quieter, and used his free hand to tap on the samurai’s shoulder. There was no response. He reached up and wove his fingers through Jack’s hair, tugging at it lightly.

There was a slightly deeper intake of breath, but still no visual or audible reply. The hand of Jack’s that had been on his back loosened and fell to the sheets.

Aku sighed loudly, and resolved himself to this fate, shifting his chin back down to a more comfortable position on Jack’s head. It took him a moment to realize his hand was still in Jack’s hair, and he made a disgusted face before attempting to pull it out. As he did, however, it struck him just how very _soft_ the hair was.

He brought some strands up to his line of sight to observe them. In all his years, he’d never thought that Jack’s hair would be _soft_. It seemed like he didn’t really take care of it besides tying it up and ignoring it. Then again, he’d never really given any consideration to any aspect of the samurai besides his death.

He set the hair and his hand down, and let out another deep breath.

He couldn’t believe this. This was the second time in the same night he’d given in to Jack’s pleas. He had to be the softest demon-turned-human he knew.

Unfortunately, he was the _only_ one he knew.

**Author's Note:**

> Shaaaameless fluff. Mixed in with Bad Times For All. 
> 
> The worst part of this was trying to look up racist terms. I mean, I’ve heard a few in my day, but then I figured: whats also a horrible racist term? An incorrect racist term.   
> I’m a great ally. -Throws self into trash-
> 
> To be perfectly clear, Aku isn’t feeling pity for Jack’s SadFace. That’s for another time. *rainbows*
> 
> And yes, some of the come-on lines were stolen from the glorious asksamuraijack tumblr. Gods, those anons could be creepy.
> 
> And to add on to that creepiness, here’s a speeling mistake I made, here now to give all of you lovely dreams tonight: 
> 
> -Anger finally boiling over, Aku put his hand over Jack’s mother


End file.
